Unitary take-up escutcheon



June 3, 1958 E. REED 2,836,925

' UNITARY TAKE-UP ESCUTCHEON Original Filed Nov. 23, 195] INVENTOR ERWIN REED ATTORNEYS United States Patent i UNITARY TAKE-UP ESCUTCHEON Erwin Reed, University Heights, Ohio; William Friedman,

executor of the estate of Erwin Reed, deceased, assignor to Reed-Cromex Corporation, South Euciid, ()hio, a corporation of Ohio Grigina! appiication November 23, 1951, Serial No. 257,924. Divided and this application June 27, 1956, Serial No. 595,569

1 Claim. (Cl. 45-139) The present invention relates generally to take-up flanges or escutcheons of the type utilized in conjunction with the ornamental legs of washstands and the like to adjust the length of the legs. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a unitary construction of such an escutcheon and the method of producing the same.

Prior art devices of. this kind have been made generally in one of two ways. In the assembled or fabricated forms, at least two pieces are necessary; one piece being the body of the escutcheon and the other piece being the top plate which is secured to the body portion. The other form is a unitary or single-piece structure, either fabricated or cast, which has no top plate whatsoever and consists only of a body.

Although the latter form of escutcheon is less desirable than the form which includes a top plate, there has heretofore been no development of a one-piece structure including a top-plate. Due to the tapered design of the escutcheon, which has become generally standard throughout the industry, it has been considered impossible to cast a unitary escutcheon having a top-plate at its wide end.

It is a primary object of my invention to provide a take-up escutcheon of one-piece construction, having a top plate.

Another object of my invention is to provide a unitary escutcheon which is ornamental in appearance and which is economical to produce.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a method for making an escutcheon of the character described.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during the course of the following description. In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. l is a front elevation of a take-up escutcheon embodying the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan of the escutcheon shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross-sectional View taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the dies used in the manufacture of the escutcheon shown in Fig. l, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1-4 of the drawings, the take-up flange or escutcheon 10 is seen to be of generally inverted trusts-conical form, having an open bottom end 11 which tapers to a top end 12 of larger diameter, thus forming a body 13. The uniformity of the taper, in this instance, is interrupted by circumferential steps 14 and 15 which are in vertically spaced relationship and which serve to enhance the ornamental appearance of the escutcheon. The contour of the ex- 2,836,925 Patented June 3, 1958 terior of the body 13 may, however, vary somewhat to produce different ornamental appearances or exterior Wall surfacepatterns, the only desideratum in this connection being that the top end 12 is of larger diameter than the bottom end 11.

Extending longitudinally interior of the escutcheon are four circumferentially-spaced ribs 16 which, in this instance extend substantially the full length of the escutcheon, but which may extend downwardly a distance somewhat less than the full length of the escutcheon. Moreover, the number of ribs may be varied. The ribs 16 extend radially inwardly a fixed distance, so as to create a bore 17 within the escutcheon.

The ribs 16 are integral with the wall of the escutcheon body 13 and terminate just short of the top end 12 of the body where they join an element 13, which is also integral with the ribs 16. The element 18, in this instance, is shown as a disk-like top plate, but it will be understood that this element may vary somewhat as to its diameter, depth and external contour.

The top plate 18 is countersunk as at 19 and is drilled and tapped to provide a central threaded opening 2% which extends vertically through the top plate.

As indicated in Fig. 1, when utilizing the escutcheon 1d, a toggle bolt A is thereby secured in the opening 21) and also threadedly engages the leg B of a washstand or the like. The toggle is inserted in a suitable aperture in the underside of the Wash-bowl and the escutcheon it is then screwed home to take-up on the toggle bolt A and hold it securely in anchored position.

The leg B may then be rotated to adjust it to the proper effective length to support the washstand.

It will be apparent that the escutcheon herein disclosed is a unitary one-piece structure which is provided with an integral top plate thereby incorporating the advantages of the two-piece prior art structures as well as the economy of manufacture of the one-piece prior art structures.

In Figs. 5 and 6 i have illustrated, somewhat diagrammatically, a die and mold arrangement which could be utilized in die-casting a unitary escutcheon of the type above described.

The mold 21 comprises a cavity 22 which conforms to the exterior contour of the cast piece. Projecting vertically into the cavity 22 is a solid cylindrical core 23 which forms the bore 17 of the completed escutcheon 3%.

The die 24 is provided with four spaced fingers 25 which project into the cavity 22 and embrace the core 23. The outward periphery of the fingers is spaced from the wall of cavity 22 and conforms to the contour thereof, whereby the wall of the escutcheon is formed.

The longitudinally extending spaces 26 between the fingers 25, permit the formation of the ribs 16 of the escutcheon, and also permit the flow of metal into a suitably formed cavity 27 above the core 23, thus forming the top plate 13 of the escutcheon.

By integrating the top plate 18 with the ribs 15, it is therefore possible to die-cast the one-piece escutcheon heretofore described, even though the direction of taper of the escutcheon would preclude the die-casting of a completely solid cover plate on the large diameter end 12 of the escutcheon.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claim.

This application is a division of application, Serial No. 257,924, filed November 23, 1951, now Patent No. 2,760,245.

scribed, corn prising a tubular body portion having an upper end of larger external diameter than the bottom end, a plurality of ci'rcurnferentially-spaced longitudinaliy extending ribs integral With'said body portion and extending radially inwardly thereof, said ribs having'a relatively small thickness in a direction circumferentially of said escutcheon body, and the radially-inward edges of said ribs defining a central cylindrical bore of substantially uniform diameter for said escutcheon, an element disposed centrally within said body portion and ad- I jacent said end of larger diametensaid element being integrated'with the upper ends of said ribs and having a countersunk central opening therein which is threaded.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

